The End of Oak Street (2026)

directed by David Robert Mitchell; starring Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, and Christian Convery

Hell yeah we're gonna start with a dysfunctional family at a block party. Bet there's another couple fighting over potato salad and a sad guy drinking too much Seagram's 7 on his porch, too. Dad's checked out delivering pizzas and drinking, Mom's secret novel is all about ditching the family, and the kids are nerds who love science, the family dog, and the new neighbor girl. Then a laser light show minus Pink Floyd comes along and dumps the neighborhood into a better Jurassic World sequel than the ones we got. These dinosaurs came to chew Bubblegum and kick ass, and only one cat in the neighborhood was named Bubblegum.

     The Jurassic World franchise ran out of steam about the time they had the murder birds hanging around gothic mansions and arms dealers. Dinosaurs were not meant for James Bond plots. They're meant for eating annoying people who threaten dogs. A giant lizard of death sneaking around an 80s suburbia is the kind of pulp nonsense this genre needed. Shame it could not have a few more jokes as our own self-serious family has to process a few internal demons like they were an Ari Astor character.

     In short, The End of Oak Street is a fun genre throwback to the package movies I grew up watching on HBO. Some say it's an Amblin throwback, but this is on the level of 1986's Critters (that's a compliment). Just a regular people creature meatgrinder of a picture. Questions abound about the story and the ending, but nobody digesting this along with some beer and chicken wings would or should care to ask. Let the monsters eat and be merry. Check it out.

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